Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“Yeah, well, you still give the best hugs outta this family,” Earl muttered, his smile soft.
North lifted his head and narrowed his eyes on Gramps. “And now you can have my hugs all the time. You know I’m not gonna let you leave here.”
“Ha! Me living in Germany. That’s crazy. This is the first time I’ve been outta the US.”
“Well, let me introduce you to some pretty amazing people who are gonna help me convince you to stay.” North wrapped his arm around his grandpa and started to usher him over to the gathering of people.
“Baldewin and Tori were a fantastic start. Did you know that Tori is from Finland? Finland! Can you imagine? I’d never met anyone from Finland before.”
“Did you hear that?” Tori said, grinning over at his mate. “Me being from Finland is more interesting than you being a dragon.”
North barely covered his laugh with a cough as he walked Earl to Alric and Cameron. “Gramps, this is King Alric Burkhard of the Fire Dragon Clan and his consort, Cameron Burkhard.”
Earl straightened and puffed up his chest a little, making North grin. He started to bow, but Alric quickly extended his right hand to his grandpa.
“Mr. Aldridge, it is truly an honor to make your acquaintance and to have you staying in our home. Without your hard work and the knowledge you passed on to your grandson, we might never have found each other. That would have been a profound loss to both dragons and mages.”
“My…well…you’re welcome,” Earl said, stammering a bit. But then, who didn’t when met with Alric’s sincere and regal words. The man was born to be a freaking king.
“And we are very much hoping you’ll choose to stay with us,” Cameron added.
Earl made a slight scoffing noise. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I’m too old to be learning magic now.”
“Ha!” Cameron laughed. “I think my grandmother has got you beat by at least ten years and she’s taking lessons with Lisette. You’ll meet her later this evening.”
“Grandmother, huh?”
“Ha Na is pretty amazing. You’ll love her,” North added before nudging Earl down the line. “This is Dieter, the royal advisor, and his mate, Lisette, who is also the head mage and hands down the smartest woman I have ever met.”
Dieter greeted Earl with a bow of his head while Lisette placed a triangular device in the palm of Earl’s extended hand. In an instant, the device flashed a bright green light.
“There,” Lisette announced with a broad smile. “It’s official.”
“What was that?” Earl gasped as she plucked the device back from his hand.
“It’s an Amulet of Noh. It determines whether someone is a mage,” North explained. “Though we all knew it, that proves it. You’re a mage. Now you gotta stay.”
Earl huffed a laugh. “Such cheek. I’ll think about it. Depends on the kind of beer they got in this place.”
“I think we’ve got you covered, Earl. This is Germany after all,” Warin said, extending his hand to North’s grandpa.
“Bah,” Earl scoffed, batting Warin’s hand away before pulling him into a tight hug. “It’s about time I got to meet in person the man who’s made my grandson so damn happy.”
North might have given a little joyful wiggle while blinking away happy tears. Earl and Warin had spent lots of hours talking online over the past year, getting to know each other. Earl might have drilled Warin a little bit on treating North right, not that there had ever been a chance of that not happening. And Warin had taken the warnings in stride, even though he was easily five hundred years older than Gramps.
“Alright, let’s get inside. You dragons might not mind the cold, but this old man has had enough,” Earl shouted as he released Warin.
Laughing, North ushered Gramps into the castle. North was planning to take him straight to his room so he could rest after his long flight from the US and the two-hour drive from Munich to Sonthofen, but he would not be stopped. He exclaimed over the opulent decorations and architecture of the palace. He stopped and eagerly introduced himself to every dragon and mage they encountered. He poked his head into various rooms and demanded to be shown where North was taking his magic lessons.
Two. Hours.
It took North two hours to get his grandpa to his personal suite so he could have a short nap before that evening’s party. North nearly collapsed in his grandpa’s bed but managed to crawl back to the rooms he shared with Warin for a too-short nap in his own bed. Holy crap! How did a sixty-five-year-old man wear him out like that?
Warin was preening. He couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t just him. His dragon was feeling quite proud as they watched their mate moving around the party in the great hall, laughing and talking with everyone. The entire clan was gathered to celebrate their engagement.